Certain electrical connectors contain an array of electrical contacts having pin sections coextending from a mounting face of the connector to be received into respective through-holes of a circuit element such as a mother board to become electrically connected with circuits of the board. The dielectric housing of the connector includes passageways in which the contacts are respectively retained in selected spacings and positions so that the pin sections extend in a selected pattern. The through-holes of the mother board are drilled in a selected array or pattern to which the contact pattern of the connector is chosen to match, for the pin sections to be all aligned with respective through-holes to be received thereinto upon mounting the connector to the mounting surface of the mother board.
The pin sections of the contacts are elongate, and increasingly the industry is miniaturizing the diameters thereof and reduced centerline spacing in an overall economy of mother board real estate. There is a susceptibility during connector handling prior to board mounting, for damage to the pin sections or at least undesirable deflection of one or more of the pin sections from a precisely orthogonal orientation relative to the mounting face. Certain connectors are known in which a thin dielectric plate or film member or organizer is initially disposed over the leading ends of the pin sections to retain the leading ends fixed in position and thus prevent incidental misalignment of the pin sections during handling. Upon mounting, the leading ends of the contacts easily and simultaneously enter corresponding ones of the through-holes; and upon engagement of the organizer with the mounting surface of the mother board, the organizer is urged upwardly along the pin sections towards and to the mounting face of the connector housing whereafter it remains innocuous during in-service use. Use of organizers is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,655,516 and 3,512,116.
It is known for circuit boards to provide mounting holes adjacent and outwardly of an array of through-holes to enable fastening hardware such as board locks affixed to a connector to be inserted to secure the connector in position upon full insertion of the pin sections into and through the respective through-holes, and flanges of the connector housing include apertures correspondingly opposed to the mounting holes of the circuit board, outwardly from which shank sections of the fasteners extend properly positioned to be received into the mounting holes of the circuit board.
It is desired to provide a board-mountable connector having very small diameter contacts and an organizer therefor, to have a means to assure accurate positioning of the connector with respect to the board prior to entry of the pin section leading ends into the respective through-holes of the circuit board.